CanadianGameDevs.com Podcast

French indie game studio Guard Crush Games joins us to talk about their 2025 rogue 'em up Absolum which is nominated for Best Indie Game at the Game Awards this week.We speak to Montréal-based devs Cyrille, Léo and Bo about the studio's history and process, working on beat 'em ups using your own engine, getting nominated for Best Indie along with games like Hades II and Silksong as well as more questions about their work (some from our Discord).Follow Guard Crush on Twitter (or "X"), Facebook and Steam and get Absolum on PC and Consoles! Play it in co-op to make Cyrille and the team happy :)MUSIC:00:00 - The Resistance (Main Theme) by Gareth Coker (Absolum OST)11:01 - Yeldrim by Gareth Coker ft Rachel Hardy (Absolum OST)29:31 - Character Select by Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage 4 OST)47:18 - Azra, Pride of the Sun King by Gareth Coker (Absolum OST)HOSTED & PRODUCED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON)❤️ made possible thanks to our lovely Patrons ❤️

Dev's Games on Steam, itch.io, Tumblr & Patreon | Slaughterneko on Twitch & YouTubeArticle referenced: Solo-Devs and Risk-Takers (An Artistic Exploration of Experimental Tools by Nathalie LawheadIndie dev, level designer, patron and apologist-to-God Devon Wiersma joins us to discuss their latest release Centauri Dark- as well as life since going full-time indie after the Beans Team games industry'd them. We commiserate on the search for games with better verbs and share thoughts on how we can get this industry and these games to stop being so goshdarn bad lol no for real we're not too cynical it's a really fun chat.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro Music by @catbaux (Toronto, ON)01:49 Reign of the Septims by Jeremy Soule (USA)06:23 Quentin Tarantino on Charlie Rose 04/22/200408:10 Devolver Direct 202020:40, 30:47, 37:42 - Idea by Jenerikku (Chicago) from Bombing!! 2: A Graffiti Paradise38:59 Bill Hader talking to The Script Lab46:43 Imagine by John Lennon (Central Park, various locations)HOSTED & PRODUCED BY: Stephan “RIPS - rest in peace steve” ReillySupport us on Patreon | Join the Discord | Follow on "Twitter" @CanadaGameDevs | Follow on TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Follow on Instagram @canadiangamedevs

Read the Full Episode 240 Show Notes on CanadianGameDevs.comCheckout the Quiver Games Incubator!See the student game Meowmentum David mentionedCANADIAN GAME DEV JOBS | CANADIAN GAME DEV EVENTSThis week we're joined by David Boguslavsky (@BOmaniaFTW) Brand & Community Manager at Quiver Games, a "one stop solution to connect with other developers, build up a portfolio, and join people together into dream game dev teams to make amazing games." He tells us about their upcoming Games Incubator (Deadline June 14!) and then joins us for the regular pod to discuss local Vancouver studio Relic Entertainment's turbulent last few years, IGN Entertainment buying everything and the rest of our usual show.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro Music by @jakebutineau (Toronto, ON)00:13 Intro, Events, Jobs!12:06 'Last Words' by Supergiant Games (San Jose) from Hades OST12:54 News!26:34 'The Keeper' by Paul Ruskay (Vancouver, BC) from Homeworld II Remastered27:02 Wishlist This36:34 Robots at Midnight The MIX trailer by @FinishLineGames (Toronto, ON)37:10 Discord Discussion42:47 Kickstarter Korner48:02 What We've Been Playing (Hades, Laika: Aged by Blood, Stardew IRL)53:21 Wrap Up55:04 Outro Music by @Composingdan (Toronto, ON)CREDITS:HOSTED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON) & (usually) @StephenLCrane (Owen Sound, ON)PRODUCED BY: Stephan "Games Are Horrible Little Devices" ReillyJoin the Discord | Follow on "Twitter" @CanadaGameDevs | Follow on TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Follow on Instagram @canadiangamedevs

Read the Full Episode 239 Show Notes on CanadianGameDevs.comCheckout Eric on LinkedIn lolol (homer voice "Neeeeeerd") No for real Eric's Discord kept dropping but we power through the pain like Rocky punching the meats.CANADIAN GAME DEV JOBS | CANADIAN GAME DEV EVENTSTIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro Music by @jakebutineau (Toronto, ON), 00:13 Intro, Events, Jobs!, 16:11 'Coral Crown' from Hades II OST by Supergiant Games (San Jose), 16:43 News!, 33:36 'Bruising The Fat (Shar Ikal)' by @chefdabu (Montréal, QC) & @simonswerwer (Barcelona), 34:09 Wishlist This, 41:21 Discord Discussion, 1:02:35 'Balatro Main Theme - Funk Fusion Cover' by Dom Palombi (Bridgewater, NJ), 1:03:14 What We've Been Playing (Hades II, should be Gigantic instead of Overwatch 2 lol), 1:13:37 Wrap Up, 1:19:50 'todd and his sweet little lies' by Crowbcat (YouTube), 1:20:27 Outro Music by @Composingdan (Toronto, ON)CREDITS:HOSTED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON) & @StephenLCrane (Owen Sound, ON)PRODUCED BY: Stephan "Give us the Gifs!!" ReillyFIND US:Join the Discord | Follow on "Twitter" @CanadaGameDevs | Follow on TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Follow on Instagram @canadiangamedevs

Read the Full Episode 238 Show Notes on CanadianGameDevs.comsdsadasCheckout Twinolli & Highlighters:Highlighters on Steam | Twinolli on Twitter | Highlighters Composer Tori Roberts on TwitterLINKS:JOBS | EVENTS | Joydrop Unionization Labour Board Case InfoTIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro Music by @jakebutineau (Toronto, ON)00:13 - Intro09:27 - Theme from Russian Subway Dogs by @CoinsElectro (Toronto, ON)09:50 - News!34:15 - theme from A Knight in the Attic by Neil Quillen34:40 - Dad Deck Update36:16 - Wishlist This44:40 - 'Soba' from Highlighters by @torrybobs44:53 - Twinolli Interview56:07 - 'Hasen' from Highlighters by @torrybobs56:34 - Twinolli Interview Cont'd1:11:51 - 'Done Tutorial' from Highlighters by @torrybobs1:12:14 - What We've Been Playing1:36:22 - Wrap Up1:38:10 - Outro Music by @Composingdan (Toronto, ON)CREDITS:HOSTED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON) & @StephenLCrane (Owen Sound, ON)PRODUCED BY: Stephan "Rephan Steilly" ReillyPOD MAIN FEED ART BY: @Poltergust234! (Ko-fi - Alberta)FIND US:Join the Discord | Follow on "Twitter" @CanadaGameDevs | Follow on TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Follow on Instagram @canadiangamedevs

Award-winning Québécois game developer Kevin aka @dragon_slumber (creator of Tech Support, Arelite Core, Astral Traveler and most recently Aethernaut) joins special guest host Flynn Ringrose for an electrifying discussion of Kevin's recent plays, watches and step away from full time game dev to other work.Checkout Dragon Slumber's Steam catalogueFollow Flynn on LinkedIn (lol)You can also follow Kevin on LinkedIn?! (lolol)

Full show notes are available on our site <3Joydrop Unionization Labour Board Case InfoJOBS | EVENTSTIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro Music by @jakebutineau (Toronto, ON)00:13 - Introduction/Events/Jobs08:37 - 'Player Select' from Streets of Rage 2 by Motohiro Kawashima & Yuzo Koshiro08:58 - News!13:43 - 'Battle Music 3' from Baldur's Gate III by Borislav Slavov14:03 - News Cont'd21:35 - 'The Vale Two' from The Vale: Shadow of the Crown by Tom Mullins22:10 - Wishlist This32:19 - Discord Discussion: Random DM's34:50 - Steve's Sega Saturn shit36:36 - Kickstarter Korner41:01 - 'Tea Party' from Ravenlok by @mikelizolarocha (Ottawa x Toronto)41:15 - Been Playing (GUNHEAD, Alone in the Dark (2024), more of Steve's Sega Saturn shit, Can Stardew OR Overwatch 2 be stopped?)48:26 - Wrap Up49:15 - Outro Music by @Composingdan (Toronto, ON)CREDITS:HOSTED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON) & @StephenLCrane (Owen Sound, ON)PRODUCED BY: Stephan "Nintendo Entertainment" ReillyPOD MAIN FEED ART BY: @Poltergust234! (Ko-fi - Alberta)FOLLOW:Join the Discord | Follow on "Twitter" @CanadaGameDevs | Follow on TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Follow on Instagram @canadiangamedevs

Full show notes on our website <3Joydrop Unionization Ontario Labour Board Case Info!CANADIAN GAME DEV JOBS | CANADIAN GAME DEV EVENTSNEWS:Montréal: Sea Of Stars Gets Surprise Co-op Mode To Celebrate 5 Million PlayersMontréal & Toronto: Behaviour Interactive snaps up Fly StudioVancouver & int’l: Tails Noir Developer Eggnut ClosesWISHLIST THIS:Goeland by @MaartiGames in Montreal, QC. Releasing TBD, Wishlist on Steam;ctrl.alt.DEAL by @OnlyByMidnight in Edmonton, AB. Releasing TBD, Wishlist on Steam - (Listen to our 2020 interview with the team);Engineered To Purpose by Confidence Roll Games by @ConRollGamesETP in the GTA. Releasing March 26, 2024 - Wishlist on Steam.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Producer's Note00:14 - Intro Music by @jakebutineau (Toronto, ON)00:27 - Introduction & Events07:13 - 'Battle On!' from Sea of Stars by @ericsabotage 07:45 - News!18:14 - Wishlist This29:15 - 'Drums and Stuff' by @WesMcClintock (Toronto, ON)32:23 - Been Playing (Spider-Man 2, Deep Rock Survivor, Helldivers 2)43:14 - 'A Cup Of Liber-Tea' from Helldivers 2 by @WilbertRoget 43:43 - Been Playing (Hotline Miami PS5 BUGGED?!?, FFVII Rebirth)53:18 - Wrap Up, Winner Gagnez!59:02 - Outro Music by @Composingdan (Toronto, ON)CREDITS:HOSTED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON) & @StephenLCrane (Owen Sound, ON)PRODUCED BY: Stephan "pls unionize quebec" ReillyJoin the Discord | Follow on "Twitter" @CanadaGameDevs | Follow on TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Follow on Instagram @canadiangamedevs

See the Winners of our 2023 Community Awards Poll Here!We reveal the winners and runner-ups for our '23 Community Awards, go over some exciting Toronto indie game dev news and cap off with a long conversation about good (?!) microtransactions and lax technical standards in recent AAA games- and why Spider-Man 2 didn't give us the immediate fatigue Ragnarok did.CANADIAN GAME DEV JOBS | CANADIAN GAME DEV EVENTSCANADIAN GAMING NEWS:Toronto, ON: friend-of-the-site indie dev Devon Taking Beta Sing-ups for Upcoming FPS (closes Feb 16!)Toronto, ON: DrinkBox Gives First Teaser of Future Project (very bottom of post, concept art)WISHLIST THIS:Captain Soda by @Poe_Flower in BC. Releasing 2024, demo available, Wishlist on Steam on Steam;Spring in Summer by @LORENINEstudios in Canada. Releasing TBD, demo available, Wishlist on Steam;DEEP DOWN by Devil Studios in Montréal, QC. Releasing TBD, Wishlist on Steam.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Producer's Note (sorry its late)00:45 - Intro Music by @jakebutineau (Toronto, ON)00:15 - '23 Community Awards Poll Winners Revealed/Discussed (apologies for Stephan's bad audio through most of it)10:07 - 'The Shroud of the Deep' from the Darkest Dungeon II OST by @chatwood (Vancouver, BC)18:41 - 'Another Year' from Dwarf Fortress OST by @simonswerwer (Barcelona)19:20 - Wishlist This (these? lol)31:10 - Spring in Summer Trailer song by @LORENINE (Canada)31:46 - Sports Talk37:08 - Stephan finished Spider-Man 2 44:18 - you get next gen Hotline Miami free?!47:33 - more like Pokemon Scar-bleh49:14 - Bridge Theme from Final Fantasy49:40 - Steve Enjoys Final Fantasy54:38 - "Get Helldivers" begs Steve01:01:01 - Wrap & Credits01:02:11 - Outro Music by @Composingdan (Toronto, ON)CREDITS:HOSTED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON) & @StephenLCrane (Owen Sound, ON)PRODUCED BY: Stephan "Solidarity is Forever" ReillyPODCAST ART BY: @Poltergust234! (Ko-fi - Alberta)Join the Discord | Follow on "Twitter" @CanadaGameDevs | Follow on TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Follow on Instagram @canadiangamedevs

Vote in our Community Awards PollThis week thousands more game developers join Stephan in the "terminated by evil, stupid people" camp as layoffs hit tons of studios all over Canada and the world. We discuss Sonic as well. Sonic supports Unionizing your Workplace!FULL SHOW NOTES HERE (more job resources here)!CANADIAN GAME DEV JOBS | CANADIAN GAME DEV EVENTSHOSTED BY: @StephanReilly (London, ON) & @StephenLCrane (Owen Sound, ON)PRODUCED BY: Stephan "f*#king Unionize" ReillyPODCAST ART BY: @Poltergust234! (Ko-fi - Alberta)SOCIALS:Join the CanadianGameDevs' Discord! | Formerly Twitter @CanadaGameDevs | TikTok @canadiangamedevs | Instagram @canadiangamedevs!CREDITS:00:00 - Producer's Note (sorry its late), 00:26 - Intro Music by @jakebutineau (Toronto, ON), 00:38 - Events, GOTY Nominees, 18:29 -  'Morning Dove' by Sam Webster & Nick Bausbaum from Rift of the Necrodancer OST (Vancouver, BC), 18:48 - News! such sad, sad news…, 39:36 - Celeste: Fragments of the Mountain OST (Vancouver, BC), 40:06 - Wishlist This, 51:41 - What We've Been Playing, 56:15 - 'Stardust Speedway Zone Act 1' from Sonic Mania OST, 56:40 - What We've Been Playing Cont'd, 01:11:31 - Outro Music by @Composingdan (Toronto, ON)